By Alan Carasso
Pretty is as pretty does.
And what Lael Stables' She Is Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) does, she does with routine brilliance. Pretty good. Pretty convincing. Pretty devastating. And pretty much the one they'll be trying to beat in the top-level middle-distance contests to come over the summer and fall in the distaff turf division following a comprehensive victory in Friday's GIII Modesty Stakes at Churchill Downs on her seasonal debut.
Sent off at skinny, yet reasonable odds of 3-5–a penny shy of 4-5–the $240,000 Keeneland September graduate raced outside in the second flight of horses as the six rivals paired off through the opening furlongs.
Always going sweetly down the backstretch behind the pacesetting Segesta (Ghostzapper), She Feels Pretty worked into the race nicely under a hold and came calling for the lead three off the inside at the top of the lane. Pinching a break in upper stretch, she went through her gears in the final furlong and reported home 2 1/4 lengths clear of the once-beaten Gimme a Nother (SAf) (Gimmethegreenlight {Aus}).
The time for the nine furlongs on firm turf was a very slick 1:45.51.
“It's great to see her back in the winner's circle again,” said trainer Cherie DeVaux, whose barn is firing on all cylinders at the beginning of the Churchill meet. “I gave her some time off to allow her to grow into herself. She's bigger and stronger. She's tenacious, she doesn't want to get beat and she has won from 5 1/2 furlongs to a mile and a quarter. So you know she is special. One of the TV guys said she's the best turf filly in the United States. I'm biased, but I agree.”
Winner of the GI Natalma Stakes and a desperately unlucky third from a double-digit alley in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf in 2023, She Feels Pretty endured a frustrating run through the summer of 2024 after hosing up in the Hilltop Stakes on her 3-year-old debut on Preakness weekend last year.
Third in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational and second in the GII Lake Placid Stakes–beaten narrowly on both occasions–she posted a towering six-length success in the GI QE II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October. The cherry on the top was the GI American Oaks in December, a mile-and-a-quarter test in which she duly rolled home by 2 1/2 resounding lengths.
Pedigree Notes:
Payson Stud acquired She Feels Pretty's dam as a 2-year-old for $550,000 out of the 2016 Keeneland January Sale and campaigned her to three wins and earnings of better than $117,000.
Summer Sweet is a daughter of French listed winner Summer Solstice, whose five other winners include SW Summer Breezing (Langfuhr) and SW & GSP Adirondack Summer (Thunder Gulch), herself the dam of GI Belmont Oaks third Summer Solo (Arch) and granddam of MGSW Solo Album (Curlin) and SW & GSP Maedean (Tapit). The latter is the dam of Gylfi (Jpn) (Nyquist), a debut winner in Japan in March. The stakes-placed third dam produced multiple French Group 1 winner Act One (GB) (In the Wings {GB}).
Lael Stable paid $650,000 for the current 2-year-old out of Summer Sweet, a filly now named She Feels Stunning (American Pharoah), at last year's Keeneland September Sale and the mare is also represented by a yearling Olympiad filly. She was most recently bred to Justify.
She Feels Pretty is just too good in the G3 Modesty Stakes presented by Veritas Prime!
John Velazquez picks up his second graded stakes win of the day aboard the Cherie DeVaux trainee. pic.twitter.com/8sQScEQNSO
— Churchill Downs (@ChurchillDowns) May 2, 2025
Friday, Churchill Downs
MODESTY S. PRESENTED BY VERITAS PRIME-GIII, $378,000, Churchill Downs, 5-2, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8mT, 1:45.51, fm.
1–SHE FEELS PRETTY, 123, f, 4, by Karakontie (Jpn)
1st Dam: Summer Sweet, by More Than Ready
2nd Dam: Summer Solstice (Ire), by Caerleon
3rd Dam: Summer Sonnet (GB), by Baillamont
($240,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Lael Stables; B-Payson Stud Inc (KY); T-Cherie DeVaux; J-John R. Velazquez. $244,140. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 9-6-1-2, $1,372,457. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Gimme a Nother (Saf), 118, m, 5, Gimmethegreenlight (Aus)–Nother Russia (Saf), by Tiger Ridge. O-Newstead Stables LLC; B-Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein (SAF); T-H. Graham Motion. $59,400.
3–Saffron Moon, 120, m, 6, Malibu Moon–Crocus Hill, by Medaglia d'Oro. ($80,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-CHP Racing; B-Cove Springs Farm LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $39,700.
Margins: 2 1/4, HF, 2HF. Odds: 0.79, 3.08, 4.29.
Also Ran: Segesta, Takemetothebeach, Birdie Rose. Scratched: Pin Up Betty, Waves of Mischief.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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